X-Rays and Medical Imaging | First World War

X-rays transformed the treatment of wounded soldiers during the First World War. Portable equipment allowed doctors to locate bullets, shrapnel and fractures that could not easily be identified from external examination, making radiography an increasingly important part of military medicine.

Marie Curie by an X-Ray machine during the First World War — Marie Curie near the battlefront in World War I, with three of the many x-ray technicians she trained for war work at the Radium Institute. Marie Curie Museum.

X-Rays and Medical Imaging in the First World War

X-rays were already being used in medicine before the First World War, but the conflict created an enormous demand for diagnostic imaging. Artillery, machine guns and shrapnel produced complex injuries, and surgeons needed to know where fragments were located before attempting treatment.

The war therefore accelerated the practical use of radiography. Hospitals developed X-ray facilities, portable equipment was adapted for use closer to the battlefield and medical personnel gained experience in interpreting radiographic images.

X-Rays Before the First World War

Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of X-rays in 1895 quickly attracted medical interest. X-rays offered doctors a way of examining structures inside the body without surgery, particularly bones and other dense materials.

By 1914 the technology was already established in some hospitals, but equipment could be large, difficult to operate and dependent upon suitable electrical supplies. The First World War created new pressures that encouraged further development and adaptation.

X-Rays and Battlefield Injuries

Wounds caused by artillery and shrapnel could leave fragments embedded deep within the body. External examination did not always reveal their location, making surgery more difficult and potentially increasing the risk of further injury.

Radiography allowed surgeons to identify the position of foreign objects and assess fractures before operating. X-ray images could therefore help determine where an operation was necessary and provide information that could not be obtained through ordinary examination.

The importance of this technology was closely connected with the wider development of surgery and plastic surgery during the war.

Portable X-Ray Equipment

One of the major challenges was getting X-ray equipment close enough to the wounded. Fixed hospital installations were useful for soldiers who had already been evacuated, but they could not provide immediate diagnostic imaging for casualties close to the front.

Portable systems were therefore developed for field use. Equipment could be transported to military hospitals and casualty treatment centres, bringing radiography closer to where wounded soldiers were being treated.

The Wellcome Collection includes a 1915 portable X-ray installation specifically described as suitable for field use during the war. Its collections also contain extensive material relating to radiography and military medical equipment.

Marie Curie and the ‘Little Curies’

Marie Curie played an important role in developing mobile radiography during the First World War. Working with the French Red Cross, she helped establish mobile X-ray units that could be taken closer to the battlefield.

These vehicles became known as the Petites Curies, or ‘Little Curies’. They contained X-ray equipment and could be used at medical facilities close to the front, allowing wounded soldiers to be examined without moving them to distant hospitals simply to obtain an image.

Curie also helped train women to operate X-ray equipment. Her work therefore combined scientific expertise, medical service and the mobilisation of women into technical roles created by the demands of wartime medicine.

X-Rays and the Medical Evacuation System

Radiography became part of the wider system through which wounded soldiers were moved from the battlefield to increasingly well-equipped medical facilities.

Some casualties required immediate treatment close to the front, while others could be evacuated to hospitals where more extensive investigation and surgery were possible. X-ray equipment at hospitals therefore formed part of the wider chain of medical services and evacuation.

Reading the Images

Having an X-ray machine was only part of the problem. Doctors also needed experience in interpreting the resulting images and understanding what they revealed about injuries.

The increasing use of radiography during the war therefore involved the development of medical expertise as well as improvements in equipment. Radiographic images had to be produced, developed and interpreted before they could influence treatment.

This helped establish X-ray diagnosis as an increasingly important part of modern medical practice.

X-Rays and Surgery

Radiography was particularly valuable when surgeons needed to locate foreign objects or understand the extent of damage to bones and tissues.

The relationship between imaging and surgery became increasingly important as military surgeons dealt with large numbers of complex wounds. X-rays could provide information before an operation and help surgeons decide how to approach an injury.

The development of reconstructive techniques is explored further in Surgery and Plastic Surgery in the First World War.

The Wider Medical Revolution

X-rays were one part of a much wider transformation in wartime medicine. The scale of casualties created demands for better systems of evacuation, surgery, blood transfusion, diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The experience of the war did not produce all of these developments from nothing. Many had begun before 1914, but the demands of industrial warfare encouraged their rapid practical development and large-scale application.

The history of X-rays therefore illustrates an important feature of First World War medicine: existing technologies could acquire new importance when the scale and nature of medical problems changed.

Explore Medicine in the First World War

X-rays formed part of a wider medical response to the injuries created by industrial warfare. Explore related developments through Medicine in the First World War, Medical Services and Evacuation, Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Gas Warfare and Medical Treatment and Shell Shock and Psychological Trauma.

X-Rays and Medical Imaging in the First World War.